A/N: Okay so this is my first fanfic so please please please tell me what you think! I would love some reviews; good, bad, anything. To give up while I can or keep going: that is the question
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Summary: It's been eleven years since Voldemort's spell and the end of the war. Hermoine hasn't seen anyone since then. She sees a car driving up the street. Could it be him? ONESHOT songfic
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Strangers In a Car
She looked out the window, an empty hole in her stomach. She had gone on with her life after the war. They had all been separated through the last spell made by Lord Voldemort and she was still trying to find both of her best friends and the rest of the people who had fought with them; Draco, Neville, Ginny, and the rest of the Weasley clan. Little did she know they were looking for her too, and one was even very close to finding her.
A black shape caught her eye as it sneaked up the street. A sleek Porsche glided along the pavement, and inside she saw a familiar blonde with silvery eyes she could spot from a mile away.
There's a stranger in a car
Driving down your street
"Draco!" she cried. She ran from the window to the door and flung it open. Running into the cool night air in only her pajamas and bathrobe, a chill ran through her bones. Maybe it isn't him after all? Maybe he doesn't recognize me, or worse, what if he doesn't remember me? She stopped short at the end of her sidewalk as the Porsche slid to a stop right in front of her. Throwing all caution to the winds, she opened the passenger door.
Acts like he knows who you are
Slaps his hand to the empty seat and says,
"Are you gonna get in or are you gonna stay out?"
"Draco?" He was different, but still Draco; still the Draco she knew and…
"Hermoine?" His eyes were confused, but when she smiled at him and her eyes filled with unshed tears, his face went soft. "Hermoine."
Just a stranger in a car
Might be the one they told you about
He held out a hand to her and she slipped into the seat next to him.
She had found him. Without admitting it to herself all these 11 years she had looked for him the most and with vigor she hadn't known she had had. She had gone through clippings from newspapers wizard and muggle. She had gone on countless trips to various countries. Every time she had seen a tall blonde man in the supermarket or in a shop she had run up to him; every time she had been disappointed. Countless nights she had spent crying into her pillow, despairing that she would never find him. She had no idea that halfway around the world he had been looking for her too.
Days and weeks and months and years of searching had brought Draco no nearer to finding her. Everyone in the wizarding world knew she was missing; he had made sure of that. But after ten years, he had given up hope. He knew he would never find her.
Five years previously, he had found Harry. They had come across each other in a wizarding pub somewhere deep in London. Without thinking of the past, they went to each other and embraced; each with tears in their eyes. After what seemed like a while, they broke apart. Sitting down to drinks, Harry told Draco of Ron's death. When he had been transported, he had landed in hostile territory; a clan still loyal to Lord Voldemort. "They put him instantly to death." Draco felt a pang, small as it was. He had known Ron as a friend for only minutes as they fought Lord Voldemort, but in those minutes, they had become equals and Draco respected him as only allies can. No tears were shed for him, but he would always be remembered as a comrade.
Kin as the destructors of Voldemort, Harry had aided Draco in his search for Hermoine, having already started a massive search in the muggle world. Together, they got closer and closer but every time they were always an inch away. They had been for years. It was Harry who finally made the decision to end the search. "We've done everything we can, Malfoy." (They stayed at a last name basis, but for more a fondness than a formality.) "It's time we both moved on. Hermoine would have wanted that." So he had gone with Draco to find him a house; he had lived in hotels throughout the whole search. He had never felt able to feel settled; something had always been missing and only in the deeps of his heart did he know what it was. Wanting to forget this loneliness and this woman as much as he could, he bought a secluded one in Manhattan where he only visited the wizarding world if he had to. Exactly 10 years and nine months after Voldemort's defeat and his separation from her, he moved in to his flat and tried to begin a new life.
Well you never were one for cautiousness
You open the door
He had decided to take a drive that night. Not knowing where it would lead him, he took a random turn down a forgotten alley and found himself in another of the five burrows. There were pleasant houses here. They reminded him of her. This is the kind of house she would choose if she were… if she were…
And then, suddenly, his thoughts were broken as he heard his name called. "Draco!" He would know that voice anywhere.
And now she was sitting beside him, tears streaming down her face and her shoulders shaking with… shock? happiness?
He gives you a tender kiss
Can't even hear him no more
He touched her cheek. Was she real? No, she couldn't possibly be. But her skin is so soft… Then she reached up and put her hand over his, enveloping it in a warmth he didn't think he could ever feel again. "Hermoine, where…?"
"I've been here, Draco." She pressed his hand harder to her face. "I've moved, quite a lot, though. I was looking for…" But she stopped herself. Abruptly she pulled her and his hand away; her chest constricted by a sudden pain.
"What's wrong?" Draco asked, his eyes filled with concern.
"All this time… all this time I've been looking for you… and Harry and Ron," she added quickly. "I thought all of you were… dead. I looked everywhere hoping to find you but I couldn't and now you found me and I just…" Her shoulders shook.
"I'm here, Hermoine. I found you, please don't cry. Good God, I've found you." He pulled her into a tight embrace and held her as close as he could without crushing her.
Her face pressed against his shoulder as her body slowly calmed. Her breathing became as steady as his and she lifted her head to look into the eyes that had haunted her dreams for eleven years.
"Can you ever forgive me, Hermoine?"
"Forgive you? I have nothing to forgive."
He gently touched a stray curl that had broken loose from her clip. They were softer now, and more tamed. He stroked it over and over. "I stopped the search a year ago. I gave up hope that I would find you. If I had ever thought this could happen then believe me, I would have…" But Hermoine put a finger up to his lips and shook her head.
There was no need for regret now. He had found her. By God, he had found her.
All the voices of choices
Now only one road remains
His head lowered and he caught her lips in a kiss. His stupidity had blinded him for so long, but now… oh but now it would not. His hand went up to cradle the back of her head.
Oh, I've found him. Finally.
He was with her, and she was kissing him. And she suddenly realized it had all been worthless. Their seven years at school, filled with pointless anger; they had been enemies and for what? So each could prove that they were stronger? No. It had been a façade. A meaningless and destructive façade. After their fifth year she had known deep down that she needed him, couldn't live without him. But she had been afraid. A Malfoy. How could she… fall in love with a Malfoy?
How could he ever love her back?
And only a stranger in a car
But he was here, and that was all that mattered. The wait might have been hard and meaningless, but she would do it again in a second if only he returned her affections.
Two hearts, two souls, tonight two lanes
She was here, and that was all that mattered to him. He held her closer, willing her to stay like that forever. He had always loved her. From the day he had seen her walk out of her carriage and into the night air, he had loved. But how… how could she ever love him? How could she ever love a man who had teased and hurt her mercilessly for seven years? How could she ever love a Malfoy?
Don't know where you're goin
Don't know what your doin
When they pulled apart, they stayed looking at eachother for a long moment. "Isn't this strange?" she said softly. "All these years…"
A strange sound came from Draco. "Yes, all these years." She heard the bitterness in his voice and rested her head once again on his shoulder.
"Hermoine."
"Hmm?"
"I don't really know how to say this but…" he pulled away, leaving her sitting coldly beside him once again. "I… I love you, Hermoine." He looked back at her for a reaction. Any reaction.
Her face was blank, but as his features slowly formed to plead, hers brightened. She glowed like he had never seen her glow before. Then she did something he hadn't expected. She got out of the car and stood beside it, holding the car door for support as she cried out her joy onto the street.
Hell, it might the highway to heaven
And it might be the road to ruin
He rushed out of his own seat and came to stand beside her. He watched as she gasped for air and slowly, her tears became laughter. Catching him off-guard, she launched herself into Draco's arms.
"Oh God, Draco, if only you knew how much I return it."
He smiled.
But this is the song
For strangers in a car
Baby maybe that's all
We really are
"Marry me, Hermoine?"
"What about your family? What about…"
"It doesn't matter. None of that matters."
"Then yes, if it's what you really want."
And it was.
Strangers in a car
Driving down your street
Strangers in a car
Driving down your street
Strangers in a car
Driving down your street
Strangers in a car
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Song used: Strangers In aCar by Marc Cohn
A/N: WHADDYA THINK? i know it ends very abruptly in marraige but i couldn't help myself :) I place my fanfic future entirely in your hands! puts hands together and looks up pleadingly be kind?